Mary came back into the room and between her and the doctor, blood samples were taken and swabs were done of Larabee’s inflamed mouth.
“Mary, when did he last have Zofran?” Barrett asked.
“Just before dinner, Doctor Barrett.”
He frowned as he realize less than two hours had passed and his patient was still vomiting and gagging. “Chris, I’m afraid we’re going to have to put the NG...”
“No! Shit, Doc, just w...wait a w...while....hate tu...tubes,” he said as he turned towards the new basin. His chest was constricting again as the violence of the vomiting affected his weakened lungs.
“There’s no choice, Chris. We need to get you comfortable and that’s just not gonna happen while you’re like this. Mary, set up for an NG insertion.”
Mary nodded and hurried to get the equipment Barrett would need.
Buck watched as his friend’s face grimaced in pain and knew Barrett was right. Whatever was making Larabee sick was not subsiding and he needed some kind of relief. He continued to rest his hand on the blond’s forehead as the nurse returned with the requested items.
“Okay, Chris, just relax and we’ll get this done as quickly as possible,” Barrett explained as he opened the sealed packages.
“O...okay,” Larabee trembled on the bed, his eyes closed, his heart beating a symphony in his chest as he waited for the tube to be inserted into his nostril and down into his stomach. Chris swallowed nervously and turned his eyes to the side as Wilmington ran his fingers through sweat soaked blond hair.
The scoundrel saw the depths of despair in the green orbs and wished there was something he could do to ease his friend’s pain. ‘Oh, Hell, Chris, I wish I could take it all away!’ he thought as he watched the doctor insert the tube down Larabee’s left nostril. He saw the haggard face flinch and knew how uncomfortable his friend was feeling. He sighed when the simple procedure was finished and his friend seemed a little more comfortable.
“Chris, hopefully that’ll help with the nausea. Mary, he’s NPO until we get the results of the tests.”
“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse said as she placed a card over his bed. She moved to ready the medication for Larabee’s lungs as Barrett continued to check the rest of the vitals. She placed the mask over his mouth and nose and watched as the green eyes closed and he sucked deeply at the bronchodilator.
“Th...thanks, Doc,” the blond hissed as he gave in and pressed the tiny button under his hand.
“You’re welcome, Chris. How do you feel now?”
“Still feel like shit,” the blond answered as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Barrett picked up the chart and changed some of the instructions before turning to the nurse. “Let me know if there are any other problems. I’m on call tonight and will be within easy reach.”
“I will, Doctor,” Mary agreed as she changed the bag of IV fluids over Larabee’s head.
“Buck?” Barrett called, but there was no answer from the dark haired man. “Buck, are you okay?”
“Yeah, Doc, just wondering what else he’s got to go through before someone cuts him a break!”
“He’s lucky he’s got you guys around to help him and I’m sure you’ll all give him what he needs to make it through.”
“Hell, Doc, he can have anything I have if it’ll make him better.” Wilmington swore.
“I don’t doubt that for a minute, Buck. He’s a damn lucky man!”
“So are we, Doc, so are we,” the scoundrel said as he sank into the chair and watched over his friend. He nodded as the doctor left the room and he was once more alone with the injured man. ‘How do I tell Vin and the others about this,’ he thought tiredly.
Buck stood up, looked down at the sleeping man, and sighed heavily. His shoulders slumped and the pain hung heavy on them as he walked to the window and peered out through the shiny reinforced glass. “Goddammit, Chris, I’m not gonna let you go!”
Buck didn’t hear the door open, but the unexpected gasp made him turn away from the window and flinch at the sight of a very pale Vin Tanner walking towards the bed.
“What the fuck happened?” the sharpshooter hissed as he used his left hand to lean heavily on the bedrail.
“Oh hell, Vin, I was just about to call you guys. Where’s Nathan?”
The tracker lifted his head and turned a worried gaze on the ladies’ man. “He stopped at the coffee shop to get you and Chris something to drink. What happened to him, Buck. He was doing so much better this afternoon.”
“I know he was, Vin. Something’s making him sick to his stomach again and not just a little. He kept throwing up and no matter what Barrett did it kept going until he put the NG tube back in.”
“Sonofabitch!” Tanner snarled as he released his grip on the railing. A wave of dizziness washed over him and he felt Wilmington’s strong hands guide him to the chair. The lack of sleep, worry, and not eating properly were taking a toll on his still healing body, but he knew this was only partially to blame for how he was feeling right now. The weakness finally left him and he met the scoundrel’s eyes.
“Are you okay now, Vin?”
“Yeah...think so. Just caught me by surprise to see that tube down his throat again.”
“You’re not the only one,” Wilmington assured him as the door opened and an agitated Nathan Jackson came into the room.
“How is he, Buck” Jackson asked, knowing the ladies man would know more about how Larabee really was. The doctors and nurses were good and did a thorough job, but they didn’t have the same sense of what this man, or his friends were really feeling.
“He’s not doing very well, Nathan. He’s sick and exhausted. It didn’t matter what they did he just kept throwing up until...” he couldn’t finish as the emotional exchange between himself and The Firm’s leader finally caught up to him. “He’s got to be all right, Nathan. I can’t lose him. I won’t lose him! That fuckin’ bastard died to easy!”
“Easy, Buck, I think you need to sit down,” Jackson warned as he slid another chair beside the one Tanner sat in. He waited for the ladies man to sit, but there was no movement from the man. “Buck! Sit!” he ordered sharply.
Buck heard the order and sat down. His eyes raking over the man in the bed as he realized just how sick his friend was, how much this new illness had set him back. Whatever happened, Chris Larabee would not be alone in his suffering, for Buck’s shoulder already bore much of that pain. The ladies’ man realized he was not the only one who felt that way as he looked at the other men in the room. He knew they were all more than willing to take on as much as was needed to get the blond back on his feet and home where he belonged.
“We need to let the others know,” Wilmington said softly.
“You can do that when you get back to the hotel,” Jackson said.
“I’m not leaving him, Nathan.”
“Buck...”
“No, Nate!”
“What’s wrong, Buck?” Tanner hissed.
“I just can’t leave him alone,” the ladies man said softly.
“Do you trust me...us, Buck?” the sharpshooter asked.
“What kind’ve question is that?” Wilmington snapped. “Course I trust you!”
“Then how can you say you’re leaving him alone. Nathan and me’ll be here. We’ll watch him.”
“I...Vin...That’s not what I meant.”
“Good, then you can tell the others when you get back,” Jackson interrupted.
Buck stared at the man in the bed and knew his friends were right. He knew any of the others would take care of Chris, but it didn’t make it any easier for him to leave. Finally realizing how right they were he stood on shaky legs and nodded. “All right, I’ll go, but...”
“We’ll call if anything happens, Buck,” Jackson assured him.
Wilmington’s gaze turned to the sharpshooter and he knew he was leaving his best friend in capable hands. He turned to the bed and flicked back a stray lock of blond hair. He knew the nurse would be in soon to remove the mask and replace it with the nasal canulas and he felt a tear slip from his eyes.
“You rest easy, Pard, Vin and Nathan got your back now and they’ll make sure nothing happens to you,” he vowed before bidding the others goodbye and walking out the door.
Vin watched the door close gently behind the ladies man, before turning his attention back to his best friend. He reached over the railing and grabbed onto he left hand. He knew Jackson was in the room, yet the medic stood back to let him have a few minutes alone with Larabee.
“Well, Cowboy, seems the long road just keeps getting longer for you, but ya know you won’t have to go it alone. You got friends who’re willing to follow you to hell and back in order to see you back where you belong. I wish the hell I could do something more...”
“Doing l...lots, Tanner.” Larabee winced under the mask as his still inflamed mouth protested any use.
The sharpshooter’s head snapped up at the muffled words and he was pleased to see a set of green eyes looking at him. They were glazed and filled with pain, but at least his friend was awake. “Hey, Pard, I won’t ask how you’re feeling.”
“No, don’t t...think you w...want to he...hear that right now. How’s the arm?”
“Stiff,” the tracker told him.
“Buck okay? He was up...set earlier.”
“He just left to get some rest. I won’t lie to ya, ya scared the hell out of him.”
“Tell him s...sorry. Didn’t mean to...”
“Easy, Chris, no one’s blaming you,” Jackson assured his friend.
“Sh...should...spend all your time here...be...cause of me.”
“Now, Chris, how many times have you stood by one of us when we’ve been hurt and laid up?” Jackson asked. “Ain’t no one gonna blame you for this, unless you keep that kind’ve talk up.”
“But...”
“No buts, Cowboy, Nathan’s right, now wipe that look off your face and concentrate no getting better.”
The door opened and the nurse walked in. Chris frowned as he looked at her, briefly wondering where Mary was, until he realized it must be time for the night shift to start. He watched as she checked his IV line.
“Hi, Mr. Larabee,” The perky redhead greeted him. “My name is Tanya and I’ll be one of the nurses looking after you tonight. I’m going to take this mask off now, but the doctor has ordered the canulas be put in place again. Sorry.”
“It’s o...okay,” the blond said as she removed the mask.
“Would you like to try some ice chips?” she asked softly.
“Yeah,” the blond answered, hoping to ease the burning in his mouth and throat. He accepted the offering and tried not to show just how painful it was to have anything in his mouth.
“Chris, are you all right?” Tanya asked.
“Mouf h...hurfs,” the blond answered as the ice melted.
“Pardon?” the nurse asked.
“He said his mouth hurts,” Tanner answered worriedly.
“Does the ice help at all?” The red head frowned as she checked the swollen lips.
“Liffle.”
“Helps a little?” she asked.
“Yeah,” the blond answered tiredly.
“I’ll let Dr. Barrett know right away. The results from the tests they did earlier haven’t come back yet,” she told him as she patted his shoulder. “We’ll know more when they do. Why don’t you try to get some rest?”
“We’ll make sure he does,” Jackson assured the nurse.
“Visiting hours will be over soon and you...”
“We’re stayin’, Ma’am,” Tanner said.
“Hospital...”
“Never mind about hospital policy,” Jackson answered. “This is our policy and one that we intend to enforce. If there’s a problem contact Orrin Travis in Billings Montana. I can give you the number. He’ll tell you that this man is under protective custody.”
“Protective custody? Where are the guards?”
“You’re looking at them,” Tanner answered.
“I hate to tell you, but I don’t believe a word you’re saying, but...”
“Lef ‘em stay,” Larabee mumbled.
“But, you do seem to have a calming effect on Mr. Larabee...”
“Chris.”
“Chris,” she smiled at the pale man, before turning to the two men. “So you can stay until someone complains. If that happens I’m afraid you’ll have to leave.”
“We’ll be quiet as...”Jackson started.
“Church mice,” Tanner finished.
Tanya laughed as she walked away from the bed. “See that you do. Chris, sleep, that’s an order!”
“Yeth, ma’am.” Larabee’s voice still held a muffled quality as he turned to his friends. “Fanks, Boys,” he said gratefully. In an effort to quiet the mounting pain he shifted on the bed, gasping as the move had the opposite effect.
“Try to lie still, Chris,” Jackson said.
“Need to move,” Larabee told them, a grimace of pain showing just how much effort it was taking to move and speak.
“No, right now you need to go back to sleep,” Tanner ordered. “Me and Nathan got your back.”
“Hit the button, Chris.” Jackson pointed to the button under Larabee’s left hand.
“I don’t...”
“Push it, Cowboy. You look like five miles of bad road and maybe this’ll upgrade ya to serviceable,” Tanner said with a grin.
“Fanks, Vin...all...heart,” Larabee said as he pushed the button and waited for the medication to take affect. He closed his eyes and listened to the two men talking softly. He heard the concern in the words and tried to ease it. “I’m okay....just ti...red.”
Jackson and Tanner smiled at their friend’s attempt to ease their minds, something he always did, no matter how bad off he was. They settled in to watch over their sleeping comrade, unaware of the lingering danger just outside the door.
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